With a passion for horse racing in the family, performer Gabby Young's path could have turned out very differently.
Instead of touring Europe and playing festivals with her band, the Other Animals, she could be quite happily still living in Wiltshire, surrounded by thoroughbreds and attending the races at Cheltenham with her racehorse training parents.
But for Gabby, who grew up near Marlborough, four-legged animals didn't have the same allure as her love of writing music and playing the guitar.
Her beloved band which she assembled through friends and adverts on the internet includes trombonist Jon Roskilly, who grew up in Cheltenham, as well as her boyfriend Stephen Ellis, and numerous others.
"I remember when I was about six asking to start violin lessons," says Gabby, whose parents, Judy and Edward, now produce her albums.
"I've just always been obsessed with music. I knew from a very early age that I wanted to be a singer and would put on shows for my parents and their friends."
Gabby is the youngest of four children who are based all over the world – her brother lives just outside Paris with his family, one of her sisters works in London and the other is travelling around Mexico.
Her parents now live in Battersea and Gabby herself lives in "a lovely villagey" part of north London, near Hampstead Heath, where she has been based for the past three years.
"I love it here. When I moved here I thought 'this is where I want to grow old'."
Gabby, 29, has just had a month off to write some new material and is coming to Cheltenham Jazz Festival on Bank Holiday Monday to perform in The Big Top, drawing on her two latest albums The Crowd Called Out For More and We're All In This Together. The band's shows have been described as a magical musical extravaganza which fuse circus swing with jazz, folk and influences from across the globe.
The year before last they enthralled the crowd at a New Year's Eve party at the South Bank and have been constantly touring for four years.
"We really put on a show, get dressed up and put on an experience and performance for our audience," Gabby gushes. "We are a real festival band. I think we've got a real joyousness to us and people like to dance and get involved."
Despite the circus and vaudeville comparisons, Gabby only went to her first proper circus last year.
"I love the idea of the ****iness and the kind of excitement which comes with the circus," she says. "You're stepping into a completely different world where nothing matters anymore and that's the kind of atmosphere I try to recreate."
When she was growing up, Gabby listened to everything from Rufus Wainwright to James Brown and Ani DiFranco, and always felt like a bit of an outsider – her failure to conform is something which she has now distinctly turned to her advantage.
With her flame red hair, stage make-up and flamboyant outfits, she's the kind of girl we all want to be our friend.
"I started dyeing my hair from the age of 13," Gabby says. "I've been every colour but green. I got into serious trouble at school once for bleaching my hair.
"I guess I was a bit of a loner, I just kind of liked to keep myself to myself. I think people thought I was a little bit weird."
Her eclectic look has led her to create an online shop called Gabberdashery.com which helps people sell their wares at her gigs – all the things she loves and would wear herself. However her extrovert image isn't something she can keep going all the time – as we chat, she admits she's sitting in her scruffy gardening clothes.
"I love black and white stripes which I'm a bit obsessed with at the moment," she laughs. "I think the older I get, the less I care. I'll quite happily go to the shops in my pyjamas, but if I'm doing interviews or meetings I always make sure I get dressed up and put on a bit of front for them. I think they really expect it. It would be a bit disappointing if I turned up in jeans and a T-shirt."
Gabby Young & Other Animals are performing at Cheltenham Jazz Festival on Monday May 6 at 1pm. Tickets cost £14-£16 from www.cheltenhamfestivals.com
